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American Kevin Ellis speeds down the track en route to a 17th-place finish at the 2006 Olympics in Torino

 Skeleton at the Olympics consists of two medal events - one each for men and women. The men's event was first held in 1920, then again in 1948 - the two years when St. Moritz, Switzerland hosted the Olympic Winter Games. The 2002 Salt Lake Games marked the return of men's skeleton and the debut of the women's event. 

In 1892, toboggans on the Cresta Run, the first twisting toboggan run in St. Moritz, Switzerland, were nicknamed "skeletons." Some believe the name came about with the invention a new type of metal sled that resembled a human skeleton. Others think the name "Skele" derives from an incorrect Anglicization of the Norwegian word "Kjaelke," which means ice sled.  

In a format change since 2006, athletes will compete in four heats held over two days. Previously, Olympic skeleton consisted of just two runs and both took place on the same day. In Vancouver, both the men and women will begin with two heats on Feb. 18, followed by two additional heats and the awarding of medals on the 19^th. In each event the gold medal is awarded to the athlete with the lowest combined time over the four runs.

Inside this sport: Competition format and rules | Equipment 

Skeleton events, along with those in bobsled and luge, will take place at the Whistler Sliding Centre. Located on Blackcomb Mountain, the 4,757-foot track was completed in December 2007 after two-and-a-half years of construction at a cost of about $105 million. It is the 15^th international event sliding track in the world and just the fourth in North America - previous Olympic host cities Lake Placid, Calgary and Salt Lake City (Park City) are home to the others. With a vertical drop of approximately 500 feet, the Whistler track is now the world's steepest. Pierre Lueders, two-time Olympic bobsled medalist for Canada, was the first to drive down the track on Dec. 19, 2007. The venue accommodates 12,000 spectators.  

Torino recap
Canadian rivals turned collaborators Duff Gibson and Jeff Pain finished one-two in the men's event. Gibson, a 39-year-old firefighter, edged Pain, a 35-year-old landscape architect, by .26 seconds over two runs. Swiss veteran Gregor Staehli won bronze, as he did at the Salt Lakes Games four years earlier. In the absence of top American Zach Lund, who was suspended after testing positive for finasteride (contained in his hair restoration medication), the highest U.S. finisher was sixth-place Eric Bernotas. The American women were without 2005 World Cup champion Noelle Pikus-Pace, who fell just short in her recovery from a broken leg after being hit by an errant bobsled in October. Lone U.S. entrant Katie Uhlaender wound up sixth, while gold went to two-time world champion Maya Pederson of Switzerland. Great Britain's Shelley Rudman was the surprise silver medalist ahead of Mellisa Hollingsworth-Richards of Canada.  

Vancouver outlook
American Katie Uhlaender has become an international podium regular since Torino, winning back-to-back World Cup titles and world championship medals. 2007 was an especially strong year for the U.S., with Pikus-Pace finishing second to Uhlaender on the World Cup and winning the world title. Runner-up at 2007 Worlds was Olympic champ Pederson, who like Pikus-Pace is regaining her form this season after missing 2007-08 while on a maternity break. Germany has been gaining ground with Anja Huber, the 2008 world champion, and world bronze medalist Kerstin Szymkowiak (nee Juergens), who just missed the 2006 Olympic team despite winning the Torino test event. Like their female counterparts, the American men had a strong post-Olympic season. Zach Lund won the World Cup title and a world bronze medal, while Eric Bernotas was second on the World Cup and at Worlds. Lund ranked third last season, when it was "Dr. Ice" - Great Britain's slider-scientist Kristan Bromley - who dominated, winning both the world and World Cup titles. Torino medalists Jeff Pain and Gregor Staehli, who in 2007 won his second world title (13 years after his first), return to Vancouver as medal threats, while reigning Olympic champ Duff Gibson will watch from the broadcast booth of CTV, a Canadian television network.